


Chicago

by gaylien_space_rock



Series: ZR Soundtrack Universe [4]
Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Female Runner Five, Multi, Sam and Five are pining dumbasses, Spoilers up to end of Season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22237237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaylien_space_rock/pseuds/gaylien_space_rock
Summary: With everything that threatened to immediately kill her dealt with, Five has more trivial matters to deal with. Particularly, something she really needs to tell Sam.
Relationships: Runner Five/Sam Yao, runner five/Sara smith (past)
Series: ZR Soundtrack Universe [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542814
Kudos: 12





	Chicago

**Author's Note:**

> Song inspiration was Chicago by Sufjan Stevens

It was finally over.

Five hadn’t really given much thought to what a post-Zombie world would look like, even though she had done everything she could to help in finding a cure a part of her believed nothing would change. That, or everything would just keep on getting worse. But now, there was a cure and there was no Van Ark or Moonchild or Sigrid to complicate things, to hurt the people she loved. There was nothing stopping England from...moving on. Or to find out if an apocalypse wasn;t the sort of thing you could ever  _ really _ move on from. Five didn’t really know what she was supposed to do now. As much as the zombie apocalypse objectively  _ sucked _ , Five had a role in it. Something bigger than selling drumsticks and guitar picks in the States, she was the guardian of Abel, of humanity. Now maybe the world didn’t need her to be that anymore. She was somewhat surprised that she didn’t feel disappointed. In fact, she felt a little relieved. She guessed that she’d finally reached her tolerance for getting into traumatizing situations and almost dying. Besides, there was one thing that she knew she had to do and if it went well, it was best for both of them if Five wasn’t always running into danger.

She smiled to herself, now they were finally safe. She could finally say what had been on her mind for the past year.

“Gonna ask Sam out when you get back, yeah?”

Five looked up at Jaime at the end of the boat, snapped out of her trance

“How did you-” She began

“It’s pretty obvious mate, I felt like I was intruding on some special moment every time you two would speak on comms” the king said bluntly.

Five felt her face grow hot and she bit her lip. Just as she worried,keeping her feelings bottled up for so long had only led to them bleeding through whenever she interacted with Sam. She really hoped not  _ everyone _ in Abel had caught on.

“Noted” Five replied “and, yeah I’m gonna ask as soon as we get back.”

Jaime smiled

“If anyone deserves a spot of happiness it’s you Five” he said. “I’m glad you’re gonna do this. I know how hard it is to move on when you’ve lost someone.”

Usually Five hated when people talked about Sara to her like that, it felt patronizing. But she knew Jaime was speaking from a place of complete understanding. He knew what it was like to lose someone he loved and to become consumed with guilt. And, like Five, he had to learn that he was only human and that some things simply could not be fixed.

“I’m glad to have the royal support, Your Highness” Five said with a smirk.

Jaime chuckled

“Fuck off Five. Although, if Sam says no I can have him put to death”

“Bullshit Jaime, the monarchy’s toothless you can’t do that”

“The monarchy, is extremely important for unifying the country during these trying times!” 

Five laughed at Jaime’s offended response. Rough edges aside, he really was a good king.

“You know, you’re gonna end up with a nickname or something for being king during the end of the apocalypse how about King Jaime of the Deathcano of Doom?”

“I don’t need a bloody nickname Five”

“King Jaime the Zombie Slayer?”

“Shut up.”

“Ok, you’re not a fan. How about.. King Jaime: He that did bid the grey go away?”

“Five, by royal decree I order you to fuck off.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

After about an hour of snarking in the boat with Jaime, followed by an hour run Five was finally back in Abel. Judging by the large crowd in the square and the empty beer bottles lying on the ground, they had been celebrating Sigrid’s death for quite some time. As much as she would love to join in, Five had business to attend to in the comms shack and she strode towards it taking the path that didn’t go through the square. 

“So you’re finally going to do it are you?”

Five jumped in surprise and turned around to see Peter leaning against the wall of the med center. 

“It’s about time you know, here I thought you and Sam would just be trapped in a limbo of unresolved sexual tension” he drawled.

“Let me guess” Five said “You’ve known for a while because it’s obvious in everything I do?”

Peter grinned and nodded “Everything  _ he _ does too, the fact that you two are madly in love with each other is the worst kept secret since well.. Me.”

Five was a bit surprised, this was the first time Peter had brought up who he used to be with her alone. 

“I really hope it wasn’t as badly kept as  _ that _ ” Five said “I knew the first time I met you.”

Peter balked “Why-”

“Why didn’t I say anything?” Five finished. Peter nodded.

“I didn’t say anything because I made a promise to someone. On the roof of the tallest building in London, as they prepared to save the world I told them that if they somehow made it out alive, they could come home again.” The look on Peter’s face told Five that this was the first time he was remembering that moment. Or, more likely, he didn’t take it seriously figuring that promises to dead people didn’t count.

“And then he got himself killed like a selfless idiot, something we really respect here at Abel” Five continued “So I didn’t get to follow through. And I know, he’s dead forever but past lives count in my book. So does everything that you’ve done proving you’re a good man.”

Peter scoffed “You really need to raise your standards Five” 

“ _ You _ need to cut yourself a break now and again Pete” Five shot back

“And you should take your own advice Ms. ‘the fate of the world and everyone’s problems are entirely on my shoulders’.”

Five smiled. “Ok, maybe you’re not wrong.”

“Ha, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that from you” Peter gestured offhandedly to the comms shack “Now go ask out that cute boy.”

“Will do” Five replied. She started to walk away but paused and turned to look at Peter “I’m glad you’re home Pete.”

As she turned around, she could swear she saw the ghost of a genuine smile on his face. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally Five stood at the door of the Comms shack. She had only been stopped once by a clearly inebriated Jody who had given her a card written and signed by all the other runners. She paused to read it, partially trying to delay what she had come to do.

  
  


_ Our noble and fearless leader, _

_ Congrats on saving the world, again. You have once again set an utterly impossible standard for us runners to attain to. Nevertheless, we will try to abide by your example you goddamn action hero. Thank you for making our jobs easier and for saving us all from a nuclear apocalypse, an objectively worse apocalypse than the current one.  _

_ P.s Do us all a favor and shoot your shoot with Yao. More than half of us have bet on you making the first move. _

So much for not all of Abel knowing about it. 

Part of Five was hesitant, she knew she didn’t deserve Sam. What if he said no? What if he said yes and she fucked it up so badly that he never wanted to speak to her again? What if she lost him?

She had thought about all of these possibilities. In her cot at NOAH Base, on long supply runs and throughout the whole journey back. She couldn’t completely get rid of these concerns but her feelings for Sam were going to come out eventually, and she wanted to do it on her own terms. And now, with Sigrid dead, they actually stood a chance.

She knocked on the door. 

Sam Yao opened the door and Five swore that the entire sun was in his smile.

_ Fuck. _ She thought.

“FIVE!” Sam shouted with joy, pulling Five into an embrace. Sam always gave the best hugs, like the Abel campfire during a cool summer night. An undeniable warmth surrounded by cold darkness. 

Five tightly wrapped her arms around him in return  _ love you love you love you _ .

“Hey there Oracle” She said.

Sam had protested when she first gave him the nickname, saying he was nowhere near as brilliant as Barbara Gordan. The next day Five gave him a ten page list of every time he had saved her life, back and front. He didn’t protest the Oracle nickname any more.

They both stayed in the hug for a long time, longer than most friends normally would. Sam was the first to pull away, sitting in his usual chair. Five sat in the chair across from him, the one he started putting out when he realized that Five coming over for tea would become a regular occurrence. 

“I’m so glad you’re safe Five” Sam said “Everything was all good on the trip back? Still no more…” he held up a hand next to his head and wiggled his fingers “You know?”

“My unwanted brain buddy?” Five asked. He nodded.

“After she confronted Sigrid, Moonchild went on some kind of Wellness retreat in my head. Said she wanted to become a ‘better person’ or something” Five explained “I doubt that was the last of her.”

“Well maybe she’ll consider  _ not _ being a horrible person?” Sam offered.

“As someone sharing a brain with her that would be much appreciated.” Five said.

Sam sighed “Five, I’m so sorry for not paying attention and not helping you with Moonchild sooner. I feel like such a-”

“Don’t.” Five said firmly, putting a finger against his lips. Five looked at Sam’s face and wondered if he had always flushed like that when they touched and she just never noticed. Or maybe her mind was just playing tricks on her, trying to convince herself that there was some chance Sam would ever want someone as broken as her. 

“I should have told you. Don’t blame yourself because I can’t ask anyone for help.”

“Right” Sam said “But I  _ know _ you can’t ask anyone for help so-”

“Sam.” Five said softly, putting her hand on his “It’s ok. We don’t have to worry ourselves about the past when we’ve got a whole uncertain future to worry about there.”

Sam smiled again.  _ IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou _

“You’re right Five” He said “And we have that thanks to you. My hero”

Five scoffed “Thanks to you too. You’re brilliant Sam”

“And you’re brave”

“You’re smart as hell”

“You’re stronger than anyone I know”

“I love you”.

Five didn’t realize she had said that until she noticed the slack-jawed expression on Sam’s face and the fact that he had stopped speaking. She had said it almost reflexively, the words had been up against her lips for God knows how long and she had lost the willpower she once had to keep it back.

“I do” She said softly. She laughed nervously. “I’m honestly surprised you didn’t know considering the whole township does. Sam, I don’t even know how long I have loved you I only was able to put a name to what I felt last year.” She sighed “But I couldn’t tell you. There was too much to be done with Sigrid and the zoms and I was so scared of losing you, or of leaving you too soon.” She smiled softly “And I guess none of that matters now, now that we have a future. I feel so strongly for you that I would never be able to keep it in for long before you found out anyways. Sam, you deserve to know that you are everything to me, you are the best of humanity. Every day when I go out on a run, I think of you and how you deserve to be safe and happy and I swear that I will do whatever needs to be done to make sure that happens.” She looked down “I don’t expect you to do anything, you deserve better than me, I’m broken. But you were going to find out anyways and I’d rather you find out from me.”

Sam slid his hand over Five’s and rested it there for a moment as he digested what she just said. 

“You’re not broken Five.” He murmured “I love you too, all of you. I see what you’ve been through and how despite all of that you keep on fighting. I don’t know what humanity’s done to deserve you Five, I don’t know what  _ I’ve _ done to deserve your love, to deserve your presence in my life.” He tilted her chin up so she was looking into his eyes and he smiled “I’m gonna do whatever it takes, if you’ll have me, to give you every ounce of love I can on behalf of all of England, that’s the least I can do.”

Five was too stunned by the nature of those words to verbally respond to them, so she decided a kiss would suffice.

Five kissed Sam urgently, impatiently. Hoping that this act would make clear everything she felt to Sam in a way that she would never be able to explain. Sam made a small strangled noise of surprise and Five smiled against his lips and ran her hand through his hair.

They pulled apart after a few moments and Five barely held back a giggle at the sight of a flustered and tousled Sam.

“Alright, that-uh happened” Sam stammered out. Five opened her mouth to apologize and Sam noticed

“I enjoyed it Five! Please don’t say sorry it was just unexpected. In a good way though, like I may have thought about it a  _ little _ but I didn’t think it would actually happen.”

“I’ve thought about it a  _ lot _ ”Five said “I figured I should just go ahead and do it already.”

Sam smiled and tucked a strand of Five’s hair behind her ear “How about we make up for all the time that we’ve lost thinking now?”

Five smiled wider than she had in years. The uncertain post-post-apocalyptic future was starting to look bright. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Let's pretend Seasons 7-8 never happened and these two dorks get to live out the post-post apocalypse in peace. Cool? Cool.


End file.
